


Stranger Things: Remix

by Josie Lido (JSST)



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Love Triangles, Mileven, Not Season/Series 03 Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21823180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JSST/pseuds/Josie%20Lido
Summary: Have you ever wondered what became of the slug that Will Byers puked into his sink?Or what would happen if someone ate it?This time, it's not Will Byers in the Upside Down.In this thrilling branch from the popular TV show, Stranger Things, 'Remix' takes place a few months after Season 1. Hawkins Lab has a new twisted scientist, Will has a new crush, Eleven has found her brother, and the the whole party has bigger problems to deal with.Mike is back in the game with the most wicked of intentions, and not even Eleven can stop the army of demogorgons he brought with him, nor the newly discovered Demogorgon King. He plans to clash our world and the Upside Down, and he's not just talking Indiana. The party will need all the help they can get to save the earth from destruction.Will they be able to save reality as we know it, and their most loyal friend?Or will the Upside Down no longer be an alternate reality?One thing is for sure:We're definitely not in Hawkins anymore.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Mike Wheeler/Eleven, Will Byers/Eleven
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. The Beach

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Fan (JSST)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JSST/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foreword: I made a small change to the end of season one (prologue), in order to set the stage for this story. It takes place after Season 1, I know seasons 2 and 3 are already out, but this is my Season 2. A remix, you could call it.
> 
> Summary: The party has a fun day at Hawkins Beach.

**Prologue** Hawkins Middle School, 1983 “No more.” Mike watches with tearful eyes as the Demogorgon gives one final screech and disintegrates. Eleven seems to watch as the last flecks of dust from the monster settle on the ground and dissipate before shuddering deeply and crumpling to the floor.

“El!” Mike runs forward and catches her, gently laying her down on the cold classroom floor.

“We need to take her somewhere for her to get help. Let’s head to Mike’s house.” Lucas urges.

“They’re with the government, douchebag! One sight of El and she’ll be back in Hawkins lab in the blink of an eye.” Dustin argued.

“Well then I’d love to hear your brilliant idea!” Lucas snapped back. Dustin hesitates.

“We could find the sheriff…” Dustin suggested. Mike is ignoring them. He is kneeling by El.

“Eleven?” he nudges her. “Guys! There’s no pulse!” Dustin gets down by Mike. They put their hands on her neck.

“Pulse!” Dustin shouts. Dustin takes his hands away. “We need to find the sheriff.”

“Now who’s the douchebag? How do you think the lab found us? The only ones who knew were Hopper and Joyce. They literally walked right into the lab. How do you think they got out? We’re just bargaining chips to them! They aren’t safe.” Lucas backfired.

“Guys! Stop arguing! She still hasn’t had another pulse! We need to get her somewhere, I could care less if they are Hopper or not, I DO care that she is ALIVE!” Mike yelled, then started choking up.

“The hospital?” Dustin said, then he scolded himself, “of course not, they’ll wonder where her parents are and then the government will get involved. I think we’ll have to risk the sheriff.” Lucas was skeptical but agreed.

“The sheriff is the only way. He’ll know what to do. We have to trust him.” Mike picks up El with a tender look on his face and they rush out of the room. I wonder if they found Will, Mike thinks, but pushes the though out of his head and focuses on the small and weak pulse from El coming back.

The hole in the wall sounds a low and deep growl, but no one is around to hear.

*somewhere in California a Camaro takes a wrong turn*

**Chapter One**

Hawkins, 1984

Mike grinned and thought to himself how lucky he was that night. Hopper could be convincing when he wanted to, and Mike’s parents seemed especially gullible. And El’s smile could make any parent’s heart vulnerable. Now El could safely live in the Wheeler household as a secret. Mike pulls out his walkie talkie, and El pulls out hers, which looks much newer due to the heavy use Mike’s had been through.

“Dustin? Lucas? Will? We have a crisis!” Mike smiles at El and she giggles softly.

“What?!” Will panics. Dustin and Lucas express their concerns too.

“Today is sunny, and Hawkins Beach just opened, and we aren’t there!” Mike replies.

“I totally forgot!” Dustin gasped, “we need to GO NOW!”

“I’m totally up for it!” Lucas agrees.

“I’ve been waiting for that beach to open all summer!” Will says.

“This is going to be tubular!” Dustin adds.

“What is beach?” El inquires. She looks at Mike. Mike searches her face for any sign of her joking with them but finds no hints of humor.

“Guys, she’s serious.” He informs.

“HOLY SHIT, guys she’s never been to a beach before?!” Dustin exclaimed. Mike looks at her innocently confused face and runs his fingers through her remaining curls. She had insisted in straightening her hair but agreed to let some curls remain near the bottom.

“Well, we can’t El not see a beach! Let’s go!” they all logged off to get ready. “MOM! I’m going to that new beach!” Mike runs into Nancy’s room for a bathing suit and grabs a random one. She’s on a school trip. She won’t miss this one for El, he thought. He and El change and then Mike grabs his beach bag with towels in it and him and El hop on his bike. Mike pedals furiously to the beach. He sees an expanse of trees and a path hat leads to the beach. It is marked with an arching sign that reads Hawkins Beach. Mike and El hop off and Mike parks his bike on a shiny new bike rack. He sees his friend’s bikes are also there. He looks up and sees El has ran to the rest of the party where they are waiting to go in.

“Nice suit El.” Will pipes up. El grins and nods at him. They start down the forested path. The trees buzz with sounds of animals that probably wouldn’t be living in Hawkins. Mike sees a light up ahead and covers El’s eyes with his hands.

“Hey!” El giggles and peels them off.

“I want this to be surprise!” Mike winks at her and gives a big goofy grin.

“Alright…” El allows her eyes to be covered. Mike walks her out to the beach. They reach the end of the path and are now standing on a wooden platform that is on the sand.

“Whoa. This is a big beach!” Lucas marvels, gesturing his arms out to wide expanse of white sand. Will picks up a seashell. Then another. He holds them up. A scallop and a whelk meet his eyes. He lets out an impressed whistle.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Will says, admiring his shells and looking at the many more, “they did a really good job!”

“DUDE, they even planted palm trees everywhere!” Dustin shouts. El frowned.

“What is palm tree?” she asks.

“Well for one,” Mike lifts his hands from her eyes, “this is beach.” Mike watches as El’s eyes fill with wonder at the glittering blue water. She steps off the platform onto the sand and wiggles her toes in the soft white fluff.

“AAAAAH!” El screams. Will jumps and turns around.

“WHAT IS IT?!” Will panics.

“I LOVE IT!” El squeals. Mike’s insides felt warm seeing his girlfriend’s happiness and the sparkle of wonder in her eyes. El turns to the palm tree Dustin are examining.

“Is that palm tree?” She directs at Mike. He nods. Another big smile comes across El’s voice.

“Guys!” Dustin yells. They look at him. “I have determined that this is a 100% genuine palm tree!” Will narrowed his eyes.

“Isn’t it too cold in Indiana for seashells and palm trees?” he asked.

“Didn’t you hear? The lab actually used their money for something cool for once!” Mike answered.

“WHAT? THIS IS THE LAB’S DOING?!” El exclaimed, horrified.

“Well, yeah, sort of,” Mike replied, “they were testing this temperature dome thing. They placed it over the beach and the lake. That’s why the air and the water is so warm. Warm enough to grow palm trees! They aren’t experimenting on us or anything! Don’t worry El.” he assured her, feeling suddenly protective. El let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. Mike was satisfied.

“Now for the water!” Mike said to El. She looked confused. “Go on!” He urged her. El walked to the water.

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Yeah, go on!” Mike coaxed her. El bent down. And started drinking the water.

“NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!” Will burst. Mike quickly pulled El away. She spit out all the water.

“What?!” they all burst into laughter.

“You don’t drink it,” Mike said between fits of laughter, “you swim in it!” El looked confused.

“Swim?” Mike looked up and they all stopped laughing. He brushed his black waves out of his yes but saw no hint of play.

“Oh shit,” Lucas muttered, “I suppose she hasn’t swum before either,” Lucas glanced at Eleven, she was looking at him expectantly. “SWIM,” Lucas made paddling arm motions, “you know, like going in the water?” El shivered, remembering the sensory deprivation tank Brenner had dunked her in, and all the painful memories of happenings in the Void, including opening the gate. Mike saw the worry on her face and felt the protective feeling in his chest again.

“Take my hand.” He said softly. El did. Her hand was smaller than his, but warm and soft. Mike rubbed it gently. “Now, one foot at a time, we’ll walk into the water.” They walked across the sand. El was trembling a bit, Mike noticed her trying to tone it down unsuccessfully. Her toes scrunched up in the sand with each step, as if she was trying to take the dry land with her. Mike observed all of this and kept walking until the waves met the sand, reaching for their toes. “Okay?” Mike questioned El. El didn’t view it as much of a question. But Mike’s large and protective hand was in hers, and his eyes held confidence that made El know that Mike would never let her get hurt. She looked back at him with resolve.

“Okay.” They took one step into the water. El jumped. Mike immediately snapped his attention to her. She slowly looked at Mike and gave a small smile.

“Cold!” Mike let out a sigh of relief.

“Yes, it is a bit cold,” Mike lowered his voice to a gentle and kind tone, “but it’ll get better.” Mike looked at her with his deep brown eyes like he could see into her soul. And there, El felt better all over instantly, and nothing could ever tear away the bond and link Mike had secured around her. Mike’s insides were getting that feeling you get when you just get out of a snowstorm and put your freezing body in front of a fire. All the worries were melted away and replaced with a warmth so friendly and beautiful that you never want to leave or let it go.  
Soon, El and Mike were up to their necks and neither El nor Mike were in any way cold anymore. Mike leaned in and El didn’t hesitate.

“Guys, LOOK AWAY, they’re making out.” Lucas whispered to the rest, shielding his eyes.

“GROSS!” Dustin yelled out to the water.

“Yeah way to ruin these young eyes! This is a beach day, not a love session!” Lucas scolded. Dustin and Lucas both marched into the woods for bonfire sticks. “You coming?” Lucas asked Will.

“Yeah, in a minute.” Will answered. But the truth was, Will had no intentions of coming. He kept looking. And looking. And his eyes would not be torn away until Dustin called out to him again and he finally got up. Something strange had risen inside of him, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. But Will figured he was being paranoid and headed into the woods after his friends.  
Mike and El heard nothing around them. They were in their own world, shared only by them. It was warm and full of happiness and the feeling of being with each other was as beautiful as watching a flower bloom on a warm spring day. El’s only sensations were Mike’s lips and his arms around her, protecting and shielding her from everything bad and filling her with uncontrollable joy that could not be contained by her mere body and seeped out of her consuming the air around her. Mike’s soft hair brushed her face and nothing else existed or mattered. Mike could only sense El in his arms, like a bright light piercing through the darkness and bringing with it pure laughter and love and cherished memories as precious as the girl he was holding in his arms. And for awhile they sat there, in this world they had created, soaking up the love the poured and flowed from one another, and purely enjoying each other’s company.

Until Lucas threw a beach ball at them. It sorely missed but splashed them, knocking them out of their trances.

“Seriously guys, that’s nasty!” Dustin protested. Mike and El, drenched, are laughing hysterically.

“We weren’t just making out!” Mike said. Lucas’s eyes widened to about ten times their original size.

“Were you having—,” Lucas started. But before he could finish, Mike and El burst out laughing.

“GOTCHA!” Mike shouted. Lucas huffed while Dustin gave a huge sigh of relief. Then they all started laughing too. Mike and El got out of the water. Mike, with a goofy sparkle in his eyes, shook his head, and his long hair got everyone wet.

“So, anyone up for a game of ball?” Dustin suggested, after retrieving the beach ball. No one disagreed.  
The group played all day at the beach. They went swimming, played lots of beach ball, cooked hotdogs over the fire Will had made, (turns out Will had a gift for making fires and for burning his hotdogs). Lucas was more than happy to let his friends play in the woods and make their own wrist rockets using his survival supplies. Will allowed his friends to bury him, which they weren’t very good at and he ended up swallowing more sand than he had hoped for. Dustin was king of sand sculptures and made astonishing turtles and whales in the sand while Mike tried but his ended up looking more like wet lumps. El had made a decent castle but made the mistake of building too close to the water, and after an hour the whole castle had eroded away. Everyone made up silly songs to sing around the campfire, and Will, who had been strangely quiet after the whole Mike and El ordeal, had more than enough to rattle on about when it came to the stars. The night was so clear that you could see the band of the milky way, and a couple of comets sent Mike and El into cuddly hugs and a few more pecks on the cheeks.  
By 8:00 everyone was so tired that all of them fell asleep except for Mike, who was hosting El’s head in his lap and felt it his duty to remain an adequate headrest. Mike starts to slip off his shirt, revealing the abs he exercised so hard for months to earn. Mike leaned down and gently kissed El on her sleeping cheek. Her eyes fluttered open.

“I love you Mike.” She murmurs. Mike grins.

“I love you too El.” El wraps her arms around him. Mike’s body feels warm and strong, buzzing with energy. Mike looks down at her, love flooding his eyes. He knew he would lift the world if it meant pleasing her. And El would give up all she had gained over the last year if only to see his goofy grin another time. A spark of concern flashed into Mike’s eyes for a half a second. El lifted her head with a questioning look. “What time is it, El? I know you are good at estimating the time.” El thought a moment, looking up at the star speckled sky. The stars glinted in her eyes. But El didn’t even have to answer before Will chimed in.

“According to the stars right now, I would say it is around 8:00 or 8:20ish. But if we were really trying to pinpoint it, I’d guess 8:15.” Mike looked back to El. She nodded. “Why?” Mike clenched his fists.

“OH SHIT!” Mike suddenly yelled, “SON OF A BITCH!” Mike hurriedly started to pull his shirt back on and scramble to clean up his belongings. “Mom and Dad said dinner at 8:30!” Mike panted, “they’ll kill us if we’re late!” Mike dried off his hair and ruffled the sand out of it. Then he proceeded to quickly stuffing towels back into the beach bag, swearing quietly all the while.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Dustin and Lucas had been roused by the commotion.

“What is it man?” Dustin asked.

“I’m late to dinner!” Mike managed between his ‘shit’s and breathlessly started pulling clothes on behind a towel El held up for him.

“You’d better run man or your mom’s gonna ground you bad.” Lucas remarked.

“Thanks.” Mike panted sarcastically. He realizes that his shirt is still half on from when he was with El. He nervously pulls it back down, attempting to be discreet about it. But Dustin is observant.

“Whoa dude, what were you doing earlier with your shirt off?!” he demanded.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Was Mike’s only reply. Dustin narrowed his eyes but said no more. Lucas speaks up though.

“We all saw that.” He looks to Will and Dustin for support. Dustin nods, but Will is staring into the distance. Lucas rolls his eyes. “You better scram man!” Lucas reminds Mike, who is loading his stuff onto his bike where El is waiting. Mike then scuttles onto his bike and screeches away through the woods.

Mike pedaled for his life. He didn’t want to remember what his mom was like when he was late. She got mad. And when she got mad, well, Mike shuddered at the thought. He is pedaling so hard that pain starts to creep up his legs. After what seemed to the paranoid Mike like an eternity, they see the Wheeler house. El hops off early, and Mike practically trips over his bike as he throws it the front lawn, with absolutely no regards at tis point for the beach bag or its contents. Hot and dripping with sweat and exertion from the ride, Mike bursts through the front door, panting and out of breath. A few drips of sweat fall to the ground.

“I’m h-here!” Mike managed to wheeze.

“Mike,” Karen Wheeler smiled, although the smile faltered at the state of her son, at least he wasn’t late, “how nice of you to join us. We’re just sitting down.” Mike glanced at the clock. 8:28. He fell into his chair with relief. Mrs. Wheeler sits down too, though in a much more orderly manner. “You were almost late.” Mrs. Wheeler looked at Mike pointedly. Oh shit, here it comes, Mike cringed, all that rush for nothing! Suddenly, all discontent on Mrs. Wheeler’s face dissipated. “But you weren’t! So, are you going to out any food on that plate?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if I have any spelling, grammar, or conciseness mistakes, and if any tags/labels or characters need to be added. I know this has revising needed, don’t be shy, constructive criticism is encouraged. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! Chapter 2 should be up in a few days.


	2. The Soup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something isn’t quite right with Mike...

Will hugs his knees. It had been about fifteen minutes since Mike and El had left the beach and he still felt uncomfortable. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was bothering him, something that hadn’t happened yet. Will tried to shrug the feeling off, but it wouldn’t go away. It gnawed at him until he started digging a hole in the sand to take his mind off it. It didn’t work.

So, he sat there, looking at the stars, all of which he had memorized their names and how to find each of them. His neck protested, which was sore from all the craning it had done earlier while looking at them as he was now. Will decided to instead look out at the water, which now was pitch black, darker than the sky. Then his eyes moved to the fire he had created, crackling and the flames dancing up, reaching for the sky but being pushed back down. The sparks flew like beautiful living stars, enjoying their freedom before they simply died, or went out upon landing.

“You good man?” Lucas was watching him. Will’s hands unclenched, and he looked down, not knowing he had been clenching them. He saw bright fresh blood from the force of his nails.

“Yeah. Just gotta use the bathroom.” Lucas’s eyes darted to the woods. Will took the hint. He got up and walked into the woods and pulled down his pants to pee. As he is finishing pulling up his drawers, he spots a grayish blue slug making its way across a log. Will’s mind suddenly remembers the slug he puked in the sink.

He had walked into the bathroom, and started convulsing, moving involuntarily. His stomach felt awful and sweat ran down his forehead into his eyes. But alas, he had been frozen in place, unable to get to the toilet. He felt something cold and wet make its way up his throat, sending a burning sensation everywhere it touched. Finally, he could feel it in his mouth, cold, metallic tasting, and the bits of it unattached floating around in his saliva. He had quickly opened his mouth and it had plopped into the sink. He had spit out all the bits all into that poor bathroom sink. Will had looked down with wide eyes into the sink to see a slug-like creature slip down the drain, dragging all the slime with it. Then he had wretched long and hard into the toilet. All that awful tasting metallic slimy bile came in the puke. And while Will was more than happy to have that out of his body, it was almost as bad as the upside down experience itself.

Will shuddered as he walked out of the woods. Wonder whatever happened to that slug, he thought. Reliving his awful memories, it seemed, was all his brain did these days. Well, that and giving his strange foreboding feelings.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lucas pressed Will. He sure didn’t look okay.

“I’m fine.” Will stated. “Anyone up for frisbee?” Will picked up a bright orange one from Dustin’s bag.

Meanwhile at the Wheeler dwelling, Ted Wheeler is struggling in a last-minute attempt to fix the soup. He sticks his finger in it, concluding that it is too thick. He turns on the faucet for the sink for more water. In confusion, he watches as a gray slug-like thing almost plops into his soup, but Ted catches it. He holds it up to his nose and smells it. It smelled like a slug.

He remembered hen he was a boy, and he and his friends would go out eating bugs all the time. And 99% of the time they didn’t taste half bad either! Ted samples the soup. It was less thick but needed more flavor. Ted rinsed the glop off the slug, and then sets it on the counter for another day. He pours the soup into bowls for the family.

“Ted! Where is the amazing soup you said you had ready? I’ve been waiting all day to try it!” Karen reminded. Ted jumped.

“Um, its nearly ready dear! Thirty more seconds should do the trick!” he glanced back at that slug. He didn’t have time to taste it, but he knew it probably tasted great and would surely spice up the soup to impress his wife. He plunks the slug in a random bowl, wholeheartedly planning on giving that bowl to his wife. “It’s ready now, dear!” Ted then proceeds to wash the soup pot he used. However, when he looks to where the bowls were, Eleven has already grabbed them and passed them out to the family. Ted bites his lip and says nothing. He too sits down and checks his soup. No slug.

“Isn’t it lovely Ted, that dear Eleven passed out our bowls for you?” Karen prompted him.

“Yes dear. Uh, thank you sweetheart.” Eleven nodded appreciatively.

Mike puts a spoonful of the broth into his mouth. Its good and has some odd but good flavor Mike cant put his finger on. He keeps gobbling it down until his eighth spoonful. On his eighth spoonful, a slug-looking thing emerges on his spoon. Mike makes a face.

What kind of soup did Dad make? He peered over at his father, but his eyes were intent on Mrs. Wheeler, who looked like she was merely tolerating the soup.

Mike shoved the slug into his mouth and swallowed it with difficulty. He scrunched up his face in disgust. Mrs. Wheeler’s eyes sidled over to her son. Mike shuddered. It had a gross metallic taste to it, almost like tasting blood. Mike felt it turn over in his stomach and gagged.

“Blech.” He let the word slip out.

“I agree.” Much to Mike’s surprise, Mrs. Wheeler put down her spoon. “Ted, I let you cook dinner and this flavorless soup is all that comes out of it. I’m going out to buy some frozen pizza.” She no sooner had finished speaking before her coat was on, shoes on, and door slammed. Mr. Wheeler didn’t look surprised.

“Okay kids empty out your bowls and wash your dishes. You know the deal.” Mike and Eleven were the first to arise. Little Holly struggled to get down from her booster chair. Mr. Wheeler didn’t get up at all. He stared down at the soup and took another spoonful before seemingly coming to a decision.

He pushed his chair back and dumped his soup down the drain. His wife had gotten the wrong bowl. He sighed; he wouldn’t be cooking for a while.

The next day, Mike’s digestive system feels like ice. He puts on a sweatshirt, and when that doesn’t help keep his torso warm, and when that doesn’t work, he puts on two. That helps a bit. later, after school, he is telling his friends about the awful dinner.

“There was this bug thing in my soup, it was like a slug, and it tasted really bad and metallic.” He described.

“Dude! Why did you eat it?!” Lucas asked Mike.

“My mom was watching me!”

“This could’ve been a new species of slug! The size of it seems WAY bigger than any slugs I’ve ever seen. You should’vekept it!” Dustin argued. Will said nothing.

The slug Mike haddescribed was horribly similar to the one he threw up. Where did this one come from? And what would happen to Mike now that he had ate it?

Will scolded himself. He was being way too paranoid. It was probably some exotic thing Mike’s dad had gotten from the store.

“Well, never mind the slug, we should go to arcade today! Do I hear any objections? Cuz this’ll be fun,” Lucas suggested, and all were silent, “great then! We’ll go at five.”

Mike rides home on his bike, his red and sweaty face appreciating the wind. His whole body was burning from the sweatshirts, but his stomach was still icy, and he dared not take them off. His stomach had gone from cold and icy to achy and icy. It was making him lightheaded.

By the time Mike is off his bike at his house, he feels not only dizzy, but sick too. Eleven is waiting at the door for him. He receives a hug, and halfheartedly gives one back. El senses something is up.

“Are you alright?” she asks him. Mike hesitates.

“I’m fine.” He says, pushing her away. He wasn’t in the mood for her worrying about him. He was fine. El however, was not going to take that obvious lie as an answer.

“Friends don’t lie.” She touched his shoulder, stopping him. Mike’s insides turned to fire. He REALLY wasn’t in the mood for this.

“I’M FINE.” He repeated, but this time his voice had an icy edge to it. El quickly withdrew her hand. Half of him was wondering why he had been so harsh, but the other side whispered that she deserved it.

He felt absolutely crummy by the time he had stomped down to the basement. He gripped his walkie talkie with such force that his knuckles turned white. He had no idea why he was so angry, but he didn’t care at this point.

“I can’t come to the arcade guys.” He said into the device. For a few seconds he heard static. He waited and almost hung up when Dustin’s voice came through the walkie.

“Why man? I thought you said you could!” Dustin protested. It should’ve made Mike happy that his friend sounded like he would miss him, but it was smothered by the lingering anger. Mike paused and decided he didn’t exactly feel up to coming up with an excuse. He hung up. He looks up to the stairs and sees that El has been observing the whole thing.

“Mike…” she started, “are you sure you’re okay?” Mike anger flooded back.

“I told you I’m fine! Why are you always like this, can’t you just accept my answer and leave me alone? Don’t you trust that if something was wrong, I’d know to tell someone. But do you even trust me? I’m not STUPID! I gave you a chance when no one else would, and now you’re treating me like some toddler. I’m not garbage. Why don’t you just go away!” Eleven just stared.

Mike watched as tears formed in her eyes. A small part of himself was surprised that he felt satisfaction at seeing the tears, but most of him felt justified. He glared at her pouring as much fury and hatred into his look as he could manage, then stormed up the stairs, shoving her aside. He collapsed onto his bed, suddenly exhausted, and didn’t wake up until morning the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is formatted tighter than the first one. Transporting this story between devices is difficult, and redoing all the formatting in the Archive all over again is time consuming. I hope it’s still alright but if it’s not just tell me and I’ll try to fix it and the other chapters!
> 
> *update*  
> I fixed the formatting on all the chapters by switching to Rich Text. Hope it’s easier to read!
> 
> As always, let me know if there’s any mistakes or tags to add/subtract!  
> Thanks for reading this humble fanfic, it’s my first and i’d love to know what y’all think!


	3. The Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike isn’t getting any better, in fact he’s getting much worse!

The next morning, Will is pleased to feel his foreboding feeling is gone. A little thought wandered into his head, telling him something bad might have happened, and that was the reasoning for his feeling’s absence, but Will shoved it away, arguing that if that were the case then the bad thing had already happened. He walks into the kitchen to eat his breakfast to see his mom and brother arguing.

“I’m going to drive Will to school today.” Joyce declared.

“No, if we’re driving Will then I’M the one driving him.” Jonathan countered.

“Why should you drive him? I’m his mother!”

“Yeah, and I’m his brother! I didn’t get to see him and was worried that whole week!”

“YOU were worried? Don’t even start, something came through the freaking WALL at me!”

“He’ll have more fun in my car.”

“And why’s that?” Joyce thundered.

“I have his mixtapes!”

“Well, I have more driving experience and he will be SAFER with me!”

“Safer? Wow, that’s all you’ve got?” Jonathan provoked.

“THAT’S IT. I am your MOTHER, and you are NOT driving Will to school today!” Joyce’s face is red. So is Jonathan’s. Will stares.

“Who do you want to ride with?” Jonathan asked. Will gave no answer. He walked to the door and just as it was about to close behind him, he paused and said, “I think I’m going to ride my bike today.”

Will pedals to school, wishing that everyone would stop being so overprotective of him. Its not like he was being unsafe by being kidnapped by an interdimensional monster. He could take care of himself perfectly fine. He parked his bike and met his friends at the front of the school, they all were there except for Mike, who hadn’t shown at the arcade last night. He had radioed them, and Dustin had picked up, but he had switched off his walkie with no explantaions. His thought train was interrupted by the arrival of Mike. Something in his friend’s eyes was different, but Will assured himself he was imagining it because of the bags under Mike’s eyes. Mike walked like each step was difficult.

“Mike, you okay man? You look bad.” Lucas voiced everyone’s thoughts. Mike only rolls his eyes.

“I’m perfectly fine,” is his only response. Dustin looked down and then gasped.

“WHOA! What happened to your hands?!” Dustin blurted. He grabs Mike’s hands. Will peers over Lucas’s shoulder to get a look at them. They are an odd shade of gray, and they were covered in sores, most of which had split open. Will’s eyes widened in horror. Mike inspected their reactions. He pulls his hands back sharply.

“I was doing outdoor work yesterday and my hands got REALLY bruised. And I had to do that so, uh, my mom said I couldn’t come.” Mike said shakily.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that on the walkie talkie?” Dustin pressed.

“I had to get back to work,” Mike responded confidently. Friends don’t lie, El’s voice whispered to him. He huffed. She was REALLY getting under his skin and he hated that.

Will’s friends looked skeptical, but Will thought it was a perfectly fine explanation. Mike wouldn’t lie to them. That was their most important rule, friends don’t lie. Mike of all people wouldn’t break it.  
Mike arrives back at his house feeling even worse. His stomach is beyond pain, he’s freezing and burning at the same time, and he can barely feel his hands still attached to his body. He attempted to move his finger. It gave a feeble twitch.

“You don’t look good,” Mrs. Wheeler commented.

“Don’t feel all that great either,” Mike admitted. Finally, someone was stating things as they were.

“Your hands!” Mrs. Wheeler gasped, “what happened to them?!”

“Fell off my bike,” Mike lied. Mrs. Wheeler searched his face. Mike attempted a poker face, then realized that would be suspicious and it took no effort to make a tired and thin-tempered face, as that was exactly how he was already feeling.

“Well, you rest up then,” Mrs. Wheeler concluded, “get to bed.” Mike was more than happy to follow that order.  
The next day Mike wakes up screaming. Not a scared scream, or a little girly scream, nor a scream of delight. It was the most awful and terrible sound Mike had ever imagined and it was coming out of his mouth as he opened his eyes. It takes about a half a second for him to realize he is in excruciating pain, and its all over his body. So, he decides to keep screaming, which brings more of the sound of bloody murder to his ears. El rushes into his room, her death glare ready. She looks around and there is no threat, only Mike on his bed in a pool of light from his window. He was emitting the most bone-chilling, horrible sound El had ever heard.

“What’s wrong?!” she desperately asks him.

“IT…” Mike managed between screams, “HURTS…” El checked his whole body but there was nothing touching him except for his bedsheets.

“What is hurting you?!” She cried.

“I…DON’T…KNOW…” Mike croaked, then he said, “IT…BURNS…”

“It burns?” El repeated.

“EVERYWHERE…” Mike added and continued screaming. El went up and closed the curtains to Mike’s room and sat on his bed. What was everywhere that could be hurting him? Air? Mike stopped screaming. “It…stopped,” he raggedly announced. El looked at the curtains. She got up and opened them. “AUFGHGHGH,” Mike starts the screaming. Eleven closes them. The screaming stops. “So…smart…” Mike hoarsely manages before passing out. El smiles and kisses his sweet face. It is covered in sweat. As she goes back downstairs, she ponders why the light was hurting Mike. Good thing he wasn’t at school today. As she reaches the basement, she sees Mike’s walkie talkie vibrating on the couch.

“Mike? Are you there?” Lucas’s voice sounded.

“Why weren’t you at school today?” Dustin asked.

“Are you alright?” Will inquired. El let the walkie talkie go off until his friends gave up and left the channel.  
The next day however, worried El even more. She checked on Mike that morning before he had even gotten up. The curtains were closed, and Mike was sleeping, but he had a look of discomfort on his face. As she got closer to his bed, the saw it was all wet around Mike’s body. She touched it with her finger and smelled it. Sweat. But why was Mike sweating so heavily? She shook him awake. Mike looked at her sleepily.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Mike looked confused. “Hot,” she responded, and pointed at the sweat. Before Mike could answer however, the doorknob clicked, and Mrs. Wheeler walked in.

“Mike? You feeling any better sweetie?” She spots the sweat on the bed. “Fever I bet. Let me check your temperature.” She sticks a thermometer in Mike’s startled mouth. It beeped. Eleven peered over. It said 93. Mike’s mom looked concerned.

“Bad?” Eleven questioned, “fever?” Mrs. Wheeler looked at her.

“No, dangerously cold, actually. Its unique, but if it doesn’t improve tomorrow, I’ll take him in.” Eleven’s mind flashed to the sensory tank. What did that mean?! Take him in?! Was it a bad place?

“Bad place?!” She anxiously asked Mrs. Wheeler. Mrs. Wheeler put her hand on El’s shoulder.

“No honey,” she replied, “just a place where the doctors can make him better.” That didn’t comfort her very much. She had met a doctor before by the name of Brenner and she was pretty sure that Mike would not get better if he went there. But why would Mrs. Wheeler do anything like that? Mike was her son! She puzzled over it and then decided that the mom knew best. Maybe all doctors weren’t like Brenner.

“Hot. Its really…HOT.” Mike said, his voice dry and raspy.  
About a half hour later, Mr. Wheeler was installing room thermostat. It would only change the temperature of the room, not the house, he explained to El, so Mike could have it how he wanted.

“There! Now Mike, you just tell Eleven here what temperature you want.” Ted marched out of the room, no doubt to watch TV or read some newspaper. Eleven rolled her eyes, was that all that man ever did?

“What number?” she asked Mike.

“I’m…not sure.” He responded helpfully. She turned it to 60 from 72.

“Better?” she said once she had felt the small chill settle in.

“Colder, I’m still really hot.” She turned it to 50. It was definitely cold.

“Now?”

“A bit more.” She cranked it to 35.

“I-is that-t g-good?” she was shivering, it was very cold.

“A teensy-weensy bit more.” She brought her numb fingers up and set it at 30.

“H-hap-py n-now-w?” She clenched her teeth at the iciness.

“Ah yes, that feels nice and normal,” Mike looked more relaxed now. “Thank you El,” he added as she turned to walk out.

“Mike,” he raised his hed, looking more at ease now. She was happy he has comfortable but was a lot less at ease. “Just so you know, its at 30.” Mike bit his lip and his eyebrows rose but other than that he said nothing. She walked out of the room. She may not know which temperatures are healthy, but she did know that something definitely wasn’t right. No scratch that. Something was definitely wrong.

The next afternoon at dinner, Mike finally gathered up enough strength to make it to the table and eat, as long at all the windows weren’t letting in any light. As it got darker, Mrs. Wheeler lit candles, which almost seemed to scare Mike. He refused to eat until they were moved farther away from him, and the terror was still evident in his eyes. Mike hadn’t wanted to go to the doctors either, but for a different reason than El. So, when Mrs. Wheeler started up the stairs to check Mike’s temperature, he asked Eleven to set the thermometer to 101. He had told her it would prevent him from going to the doctor. She had agreed, and when the thermometer beeped, she closed her eyes and toyed with it until it read 101. She hastily had wiped the blood that was dripping from her nose as Mrs. Wheeler declared he had a fever and would be fine.

“Eat the peas Mike. You need the veggies for you to get better.” Mrs. Wheeler said to Mike.

“No. They won’t help. Meat.” Mike sounded confident enough.

“This good?” Mr. Wheeler held up a small portion of the dinner steak.

“A LOT more,” Mike said. Was there a bit of arrogance in his voice or was El imagining it?

“How about this?” Mr. Wheeler held up a portion the size of his own, which was quite large.

“MORE,” Mike snarled.

“Watch your tone,” Mrs. Wheeler warned. Mike gritted his teeth, biting back an angry retort.

“This is the maximum I’m allowing you,” Mr. Wheeler held up a very large slab of steak, that took up more that 75% of the plate. Mike’s face made it clear he had wanted even more, but he accepted it silently. Eleven focused on her meal. The steak was moist but not very flavorful. She had gotten used to the fact that when Mr. Wheeler cooked something, it wasn’t going to taste like much. She had taken about ten bites of her steak and looked over at Mike’s plate. Every inch of the steak was gone. Mike didn’t the look the least bit full however and asked his dad for more. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler looked at each other.

“Um, I think that’s enough. If you eat too fast, you’ll get a stomachache! But I’m glad to see your appetite is back. If you’re still hungry, eat your veggies.” Mrs. Wheeler said the veggie bit more as an order than a request.

“I CAN’T,” Mike stated, as if it was as common knowledge as knowing that we live on Earth.

“Why not?” Mrs. Wheeler asked in a no-nonsense mom tone.

“It doesn’t work,” Mike simply replied, with the same tone of obviousness as before. Mrs. Wheeler looked like she was going to say something else, but Mr. Wheeler put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear.

“Mike…sick…meat…full…okay…rest,” Eleven heard bits of the sentences, while Mike, evidently, heard none. The look on his face was unreadable, but the fire in his eyes was giving away his mood. Eleven decided not to focus on that, and instead wondered how Mike ate the meat so fast. Even if he hadn’t chewed, he still couldn’t have eaten it that fast, and he certainly couldn’t have swallowed it whole! She put a spoonful of peas into her mouth and spotted Holly acting oddly. Each bite she took, she gave Mike a sideways glance. El looked closer. Each glance was filled with fear and horror. Holly caught Eleven watching her and stopped looking at Mike, but after dinner, she went into Holly’s room.

“Did you see something at dinner?” she asked Holly as kindly as she could. Holly’s eyes flashed with fright, and she nodded. 

“What did you see?” Holly was silent at this. Then she spoke.

“M-mike,” she stuttered. Eleven coaxed her to go on. “He FACED t-the fude with a F-FACE and it SL-LIT and he f-fuded the FACE!” El raised her eyebrows. He faced the food with a face, and it slit and he fooded the face? Why wasn’t Holly talking like a regular person?

“What?” Eleven asked her. Holly reluctantly burst a few more nonsense sentences.

“Mike had a s…sl…” she struggled.

“Slit?” Eleven guessed from her previous babble. Holly lit up.

“Mike had a SLIT face and he F-FUDED the fude!” Holly looked pleased with herself. Eleven was not. That made no sense. How could Mike have a slit face and how do you food the food? She decided to ask Mrs. Wheeler.

“Why is Holly not talking right?” Mrs. Wheeler gave a short laugh.

“She’s still little honey, she doesn’t fully know how to talk yet! But it is fun to try and figure out what she is saying sometimes, since she doesn’t fully know certain words yet!” Mrs. Wheeler explained. So, all El had to do was figure it out? She huffed. That wasn’t going to work, but whatever fooding food was, it had scared Holly. She tried to make sense of it all, but it just made her head hurt and she felt overwhelmed. She went upstairs to ask Mike. She sat on the edge of his bed. He sat up. The fire in his eyes was dimmed.

“Mike,” she waited a few seconds, and no fire, so she continued, “please tell me if you are truly okay. You know you can trust me and that if you are not, I won’t tell anyone unless you want me to. I think I can help, but this all is so confusing, and Holly said you had a slit face and fooded your food, and I don’t know how you ate it so fast, and I want to help but I don’t know what is going on!” She looked at him. “PLEASE Mike. Tell me,” she said desperately. Mike squared his shoulders and closed his eyes for a few brief seconds. When he opened them, El was disappointed but unsurprised to see fire.

“I’m…FINE,” he growled softly, as if trying his very hardest to contain the fire. El appreciated it greatly. “Why don’t I read to you? That might make us both feel better.” Eleven nodded. He pulled out a book and started to read aloud. Eleven checked the curtains and it was dark out, so she opened them and looked at the star sprinkled summer sky for a short moment before heading back to the bed. She grabbed Mike’s walkie talkie and his flashlight from his nightstand, wondering how he could read in this dark.

“Here,” she switched the flashlight on and pointed it at the book. Mike yelps, his scream full of the same bloody murder from the other day.

“Ow! OW! OWWW!” he screams. She had forgotten! She fumbled to turn it off but by then it was too late.

“Mike I’m sorry!” she pleaded. But he would hear none of it. There was a murderous glint in his now fiery eyes.

“STOP. Just STOP!” He snapped, his voice full of hatred, “you have just been being so terrible! I can take care of myself, I’m not some mentally ill person! But that’s APPARENTLY what you take me to be! I need YOU to STOP! Okay?! You are not being a good friend. NOT GOOD FRIEND. You understand? BAD FRIEND! Just go AWAY. I never needed you anyways, your just some stupid girl who gets bloody every time she tries to help people. Get out of my LIFE, Eleven. GET OUT!”  
El’s eyes filled with so many tears that she closed her eyes and they ran down her face like two waterfalls. Was that what Mike really thought of her? She crashed into the basement and sobbed. Her breathed heaved and the curled up on the couch, crying violently. Mike wasn’t in his right mind. He couldn’t have meant it, right? But something told her that he had been holding that in for a while. Mike had meant every word. She was fantasizing. She had tried to stop. How could she have ever thought she’d have a life here? But at least she had other friends she could trust. At least she had a backup plan. And with that, she took her finger off the talking button on Mike’s walkie talkie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this chapter. Sorry if this story is a bit of a drag so far! :(  
> After this chapter it should start to get a bit more interesting though so please bear with me!!!
> 
> Let me know what you think and any mistakes I may have made!


	4. The Disappearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike is gone, Will is hearing voices, and something doesn’t seem right about the whole thing...

Part of Mike felt awful for yelling at El, but the other part, the larger and angrier part that seemed to be winning over him more and more every day, felt not sorry in the least bit, and even ventured to feeling better. Mike couldn’t believe his room was 30 degrees. It felt regular to him. He couldn’t believe how unable to eat the vegetables he was. He had always been able to eat vegetables. But something inside him made him feel like itwould be equivalent to eating rocks or eating sticks. It just didn’t work with the digestive system! But what he did crave was meat. The steak had been huge, but it had filled him up about as much as a bite would regularly fill him up. He still felt hungry. What was happening?

Suddenly, an unpleasant lurch caught his stomach. His face started to feel funny until he realized the same thing was happening that it had at dinner. He was lucky no one saw that. Suddenly, a sharp pain rang into his head, like hitting it on the corner of something, HARD. He stumbled out of bed and locked his door. Then he collapsed on the ground as another, even worse wave of pain hit him. His vision blurred. He lay on the ground, clutching himself, begging the pain to go away. He stayed there for about two minutes, suffering, until suddenly, all the pain ceased in a blink. Mike sat up, shaking from the previous pain. He looked around for a while, his vision perfectly normal once more. He then got back into his bed. Only a few moments later however, something turned around in his digestive systems. He puzzled and pulled up his shirt and looked at his stomach. It looked normal except for a slug-shaped object that was writhing around. Mike gagged. That slug was still in his body? And it was ALIVE?! He watched in disgust as the slug squirmed around, almost trying to free itself. Mike’s nervous system kicked in, and a wave of nausea overcame Mike. He grabbed at the fold of stomach with the slug in it, hoping to end its movements, but he missed. The slug moved more furiously now, and Mike started to sweat profusely, and felt close to both throwing up and passing out. The slug rolled over and practically launched itself at Mike’s skin. A terrible wave of pain slammed Mike.

“GRAH!” he yelped, unable to contain an outburst. He had been trying to keep quiet. The slug kept launching and leaping, each jump more painful to Mike than the last. “RRRRUGH! AOW!” he slipped. Then the slug was still. The blackness seeping through the edges of Mike’s vision retreated. The bulge was still there however, and Mike felt uneasy. He lay back down in his bed and attempted to wipe some of the sweat from his forehead. A slight sting touched his chest. His hand immediately went to help it, but it was only reflex, and the sting had gone. Then, his chest started to burn. Just a little bit at first, but it kept getting hotter and hotter. Mike jumped as the first singe hit his skin. A light appeared to be inside his rib cage. It burned and when Mike tried to move, a wave of fear and reflexes kept him down. His brain was going against him! He was practically paralyzed, as his brain had apparently stopped listening to him. The light creeped up, it rose to his neck, which also started burning, then to his mouth. Mike was surprised to taste a huge flood of blood in his mouth. He couldn’t get up to spit it out, so he opened his mouth and tried to cough the light out. It only took one try. He didn’t see anything anywhere, but there was no longer any glowing going on, so he assumed it was out. He bent over and spit out all the blood in his mouth onto his bed. It sickened him, watching the red stain spread across his blanket.

“Blech,” the word was involuntary. But as soon as he had spit out his mouthful of blood, another came, and after that another. After the third wave of blood, it stopped. The stinging in his chest came back, but this time it was more minor and felt different. He pulled up his shirt and saw his chest all the way up to his chin was covered in small sores. They were reddish purple, and half of them had split open, some had pus, and some had blood. Mike touched one. It felt like someone pinching him really hard, and he quickly pulled his hand away. He sat back and realized his insides felt cold and empty. His brain felt empty. His…he looked down, knowing he should feel sad about this but feeling too empty to be sad…his heart felt empty. That light. What had it been that had made him feel so full before? He needed it back. He got up and opened the window. He saw no light. Oh wait! He looked closer at a crack in the sidewalk. A green light was peering out from it. The light seemed to look at him before leaping out of the crack and speeding towards his window. Mike launched himself onto his bed and dove beneath the covers. He could see the green light hovering over the covers. It wasn’t like a dark or rich green. It was more of an evergreen color. With that thought, the light dove onto him. Mike had about a half a second to spot the green light inside him turn off and to give a short bone-chilling shriek of horror, and then his vision blacked out, and he soon followed.

“MIKE?!” Eleven awoke from her sleep in the basement. Something awful had just happened. She raced up the stairs and then upstairs. She tugged on Mike’s doorknob, but it was locked. This wasn’t the time! She focused on the other side of the doorknob turning and the door swung open. She feels the cold drip of blood from her nose and wipes it off with the back of her hand. She is horrified to see Mike’s bed is empty. His window was open, but not enough for him to get out. She pulls back the covers of his bed and sees a huge puddle of blood covering most of the sheet. Mike must’ve been hurt bad. She pulled the covers back farther and spots a real clue. It is a slimy vine sort of plant. She tucks it in her pocket. There is more on the edges of the vent.

“MIKE?!” she sticks her head out the window and yells. She thunders to the bathroom and kicks open the door. “MIKE?!” she opens the shower curtain. No one. She starts to cry, collapsing to her knees in the hallway. “M-MIKE?!” she screams. Mrs. Wheeler rushes out into the hallway.

“What’s wrong Eleven?!” she kneels beside her. Eleven is crying so hard she only manages enough strength to point to Mike’s room. Mrs. Wheeler takes Eleven’s hand and they walk there together. She sees the empty bed and the blood. “Where’s Mike?!” she says, alarmed, to Eleven.

“I d-don’t know-w!” she sobs, “I heard him s-s-scream and now-w…” El trailed off as another wave of tears flows out. Mrs. Wheeler looks distraught but tells El to go back to sleep. El slinks down the steps and takes the vine out of her pocket. Sniffling, she wipes her eyes and focuses on the real problem. These vines. She’d seen them before, crawling out of the hole the Demogorgon had come through last year. They grew in the upside down. Whatever took Mike had to have been from the upside down. And there was only one creature they knew of from the upside down. The Demogorgon. And since the Demogorgon couldn’t have gone back to the upside down without making some hole in the room (it had to be in the room since the door and windows were pretty much shut) so it must’ve escaped through the vent with Mike. And it had to be nearby. It couldn’t make a hole while carrying Mike. They had a chance.

The next morning Eleven urgently walkie talkies her friends using Mike’s walkie talkie.

“Come fast. Come through the basement door quietly. Code RED!” she shuts off the walkie talkie before any of them can protest or ask questions. When they all are gathered, she tells them all the things that had transpired within the last few days and what had happened last night. She showed them the vine and told them her theory. She quietly sneaks them up to Mike’s bedroom and shows them the open window and the bloody bed.

“I don’t know how the monster got in or why this window is open. But its too small for the Demogorgon or Mike. The monster probably injured Mike on his bed, and he bled a lot before being taken.” They shuffle quickly back downstairs.

“What did you tell Mike’s mom?” Dustin asked quietly.

“Kidnapped,” Eleven answered, “she’s called Hopper. He’s here.”

“Let’s listen in,” suggested Will. No one disagreed. They all sat on the bottom three stairs. The fourth was creaky and the fifth would make them visible to Hopper and Mrs. Wheeler. Will agreed to stay on the couch and let them listen in.

 _Will_ , a voice said. It sounded an awful lot like Mike’s.

“Mike?” Will answered. Eleven and the rest looked at him. Will quickly added, “did they say anything about Mike?” They all shook their heads.

“Shhhhhhh,” Lucas reminded.

 _Will its ME_ , the Mike voice said. Will kept his mouth shut but looked around. _WILL_ , the voice hissed. It definitely sounded like Mike, but his voice had an echo and it was kept very wispy, as if he were hiding from someone close by. Will knew the feeling. _WILL_ , the voice pleaded, _don’t you want to know where I am?_ Will nodded involuntarily. _Come here Will_ , the voice got softer. Will’s vision blurred and he could tell his eyes were glazed over, but the voice was more important right now. _Do you see me yet Will?_

“MIKE?” Will whispered back.

 _Just a little closer Will_ , the voice of Mike coaxed. Will blinked and realized he was standing at one of the basement windows. How had he gotten there? _WILL_ , the voice growled. It sounded a lot less like Mike now. Will backed away from the window slowly. _Will! Why are you going away?! Don’t you want to save me? Do you want me to…_ the voice paused and kept silent.

“To WHAT?” Will calmly whispered, filling his voice with resolve. He wasn’t going to be tricked, this thing wasn’t Mike. He could feel it.

 ** _DIE? _**The voice filled Will’s head and the word vibrated around the room. Will stumbled backwards, but luckily his hand caught the couch and he used it to stay up. Eleven snapped her head back and looked at him. How had he tripped and why was he by the window?

“I-I thought I saw a deer and I tripped on a-a,” Will searched the floor, “a floorboard crack.” Eleven pursed her lips but said nothing. Neither did anyone else. Was it just her, or did Will look like he’d seen a ghost? Will on the other hand, sat down on the couch feeling quite shaken. The word was still echoing through the room. Each time it said it felt like his head was pounding. _DIE die die die DIE die die die DIE die die die_, the voice whispered. Will clenched his teeth. _DIE die die dieDIE die die die_, the voice persisted. Will scrunched his eyes up and curled up his fists. _DIE die die die DIE die die die_, the voice relentlessly continued. But beneath all the ‘die’s, Will heard a small voice. _Will? Don’t listen…I need help and only you can hear me._

“Mike!” he whispered excitedly. This time, it really felt like Mike. The other voice heard Mike too. It gave a furious roar and started yelling the word.

 _DIE DIE DIE DIE, DIE DIE DIE DIE!_ It was trying to drown out Mike and it was working!

 _Will…one thing other voice said…truth… have to look…really have to…upside down!_ Will only heard snippets of Mike’s sentence.

“MIKE! WHAT?!” Will whispered as loud as he dared. The other voice seemed pleased its drowning out was working, and its ‘die’s sounded more pleased.

 _DIE die DIE die_, it went.

 _LOOK. UPSIDE. DOWN! _Mike yelled, and both the voices vanished, Mike’s with a weak groan, and the other voice with a _NOOO! _Will tasted blood from biting his lip hard. His friends all got up.

“What’d they say? Anything good?” they all shook their heads.

“Will,” Eleven sharply said, and he turned to face her, “what is it?” Will sighed.

“Something very bad has happened to Mike. Just over there by the couch I heard his voice and…another evil voice,” he paused.

“Who?” Lucas asked.

“I don’t know, but it wanted me, and wanted to keep Mike hidden. But Mike said something to me.”

“What?” Dustin was on the edge of his stair. Will hesitated.

“I think…” Will looked at them all seriously, “I think Mike is in the upside down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this is the chapter where it starts to get good and set the stage for the story!
> 
> Let me know how it is so far!!! And PLEASE tell me any tag or spelling/grammar mistakes!!!


	5. The Vines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopper and Lucas make an important discovery.

“Hopper! We’ve got a call for you,” Flo notified Jim Hopper. Hopper was refilling his coffee. He almost rolled his eyes.

“Flo how many times?! Mornings—,”

“Are for coffee and contemplation. I get all that shit Hopper but—,”

“Is someone waiting for me in my office Flo?” Hopper’s voice rose a bit.

“No,” Flo said flatly. Hopper’s shoulder’s sunk. He was almost excited there, but Joyce had absolutely no reason to come see him. He should be happy that her son wasn’t missing, but a part of him longed for more adventures with Joyce. It had been fun. “But,” Flo added, breaking his train of thought, “it’s just a stupid phone call that will take you FIVE minutes Hop, so can’t your coffee WAIT just FIVE minutes? You’re chief of police, I think you can handle it.” Hopper found himself glaring.

“Let’s get two things straight here Flo,” Hopper growled, “First of all, I AM chief of police, and this also gives me the power to fire you, especially with that disrespectful tone of yours,” Hopper knew he would never fire her, but it was a great threat, he was pleased he’d thought of it, “and secondly, you will refer to me as sheriff, chief, or Hopper. I WILL NOT tolerate this—,” he fumbled for the word, “HOP name you’ve come up with. It’s…disrespectful.” Hopper finished lamely. God, couldn’t he have worded that better?

Joyce had a way with words. She was the one who called him Hop. FLO would not be the one to continue that nickname.

“Whatever you say chief, but it is kind of your job to pick up this damn phone,” she held up the phone to his face. Hopper nearly exploded. His speech had done pretty much nothing, but what had he been expecting? A submissive quiet Flo? He smirked, like that was ever gonna happen.

“Gimme goddamn thing,” and he snatched the phone away. “Hawkins Police, what do ya need?” he huffed. He listened. “The gym wall? What the hell’s wrong with the gym wall?” he spat. He listened some more. “Scratch marks? How big?... ten feet? Are you sure?... maybe even twelve? I’ll be there right away. Keep this quiet, you hear me?” he slammed the phone back down into Flo’s awaiting hand. “I gotta go,” he breathed.

“But your coffee, Jim what—,”

“The coffee can wait, and I said HOPPER, CHIEF, or SHERIFF, not JIM, Flo you—,” he paused, “just shut up,” he snarled and slammed the door behind him. He stormed into his car and hit the gas. Who cares if he was above the speed limit? He was the police, he wouldn’t be given a ticket.

He pulled up in front of Hawkins Middle School and got out of the car. He walked into the school. The long hallways and blue lockers looked friendly enough. He passed the quarantine doors. They looked exactly like the ones from the lab, and he was pleased at this. Kids wouldn’t be going in there.

He unzipped it and took a peek at the huge hole in the wall. It looked decently inactive, but its behavior was strange.

According to everyone’s stories, these holes closed up shortly after being opened on their own. So why wasn’t this one? He rezipped it up and continued down the hallways. When he reached the office, he saw an anxious gym teacher wringing his hands, standing awkwardly in a corner.

All the staff looked disturbed, but they worked anyways, hard and focused, trying to get their minds off the situation.

“Oh! You’re here! Follow me,” the gym teacher greeted Hopper. He walked to a door near the gym. “First we think whatever animal this was, it came in through here,” the gym teacher explained.

“Why’s that?”

“Because we found these odd goopy things. They seem to be plants of some sort but they’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” the gym teacher laughed nervously. He reached up to the doorframe and handed Hopper an ugly upside down vine. It was the same exact one as the ones growing out of the hole in the wall. They walked into the gym. Hopper noticed more vines on that doorframe too. He pushed the doors open. The whole west wall was covered in huge scratch marks. Each one was taller than Hopper, and about as wide as his two thumbs. He walked over to one and ran his finger down it. It was slimy. Really slimy. The scratches had ripped into the wall and weren’t very deep at all.

“Hm,” Hopper scratched his mustache.

“So, what do you got?” the gym teacher stuttered. Hopper decided he didn’t like this man. Too nosy.

“I need to further investigate,” he replied.

“Is it bad?”

“Well—,”

“Are we safe?”

“You’re—,”

“What animal is it do you think?

“It’s—,”

“Is it a bear?”

“You—,”

“I mean it’s the size of one, but slimier,”

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” Hopper raged. This man was getting on his every nerve. “I need to further investigate ALONE, without your big trap here stuffing GARBAGE INTO MY EARS!” the gym teacher looked meek as ever and scurried out of the gym. Better, Hopper thought.

He looked at the vines. Only one creature could’ve brought these vines. He would know, he’d been to the upside down himself, and these vines were everywhere.

There was another Demogorgon in Hawkins. And judging by the wall scratches, it wasn’t happy.

But why Hawkins Middle, of all places? And where had it gone? If it were a person, how would the chief go about finding him? He thought for a moment.

Footprints!

He looked all around the scratches. Nothing. He took out a flashlight and shone it on the gym floor. The particles of dust everywhere were visible, but so was a large footprint with claws and grime the size of Hopper’s head.

Bingo.

He followed the footprints until he came to a certain zippered door. He unzipped it and kept walking until he found himself face the face with a gaping hole in the wall. He looked up and almost jumped out of his skin. Lucas Sinclair was staring at him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked Hopper.

“Could ask you the same, kid,” Hopper haughtily backfired. He really wasn’t in the mood.

“You first,” Lucas crossed his arms. Hopper sighed. The kid was probably distraught about his friend Mike being kidnapped.

But this kid also knew a lot about the monsters and the upside down, so he would spare him the attitude until further disrespect was shown.

“Come here,” Hopper walked back to the gym with Lucas. He takes down another chunk of vines from the gym doorframe and shows them to Lucas. “Another one of those things is in town, and it decided your school was its first stop on the tour,” he explained. Then he opened the door to the gym. It didn’t take long for Lucas to spot the scratch marks.

“Holy shit,” Lucas gaped.

“Yeah,” Hopper rubbed his mustache again. Joyce would know what to do. Maybe since the monster was back, he would have an excuse to see her?

“Hey chief?” Lucas cut into Hopper’s fantasies. “It almost looks like it was trying to dig into the walls. That’s why there re so many. Its almost like it was trying to make one of those holes.”

“Then why didn’t it?” Hopper wondered aloud.

“It looks like it…failed. Look at all of these. Some are deeper than others, but there are so many, its like it kept trying but...couldn’t. But why?” Lucas scratched his chin. Real mature, Hopper thought but kept it to himself. The kid could scratch his chin if that was the price for his big head’s information.

“How did you track it to the wall?” Lucas asked. Hopper shone the flashlight on the footprints and followed them to the wall again. Hopper looks closer at the portal.

“Is it just me, or are these scratches around it new?” he commented.

“They are new!” Lucas agreed, “but why do the footprints continue?” Lucas turned the flashlight down the hallway, and sure enough they led away from the hole. “It looks almost like…” Lucas paused.

“Like what?”

“Like it tried to get in, like it tried to go through. But it didn’t! That doesn’t make sense, I mean it obviously prefers the upside down! These scratch marks, they’re deeper than the ones in the gym, almost like it was angry…chief?”

“Yeah?”

“What if it didn’t choose not to go into the upside down? What if…it couldn’t?”

“A Demogorgon that can’t get into the upside down,” Hopper realized. “This is bad, kid. This monster, it’s STUCK in our world. Foodie paradise, a world filled to the brim with its favorite snack: us. This is really bad.”

“But, doesn’t the monster usually bring its victims to the upside down to eat them? I think we’re safe enough…” Lucas looked deep in thought.

“What?” the chief asked.

“Mike has a chance…” Lucas said softly. Hopper slapped his forehead.

“The kid was kidnapped, not eaten by an interdimensional monster!” Hopper explained. Lucas sighed, as if it would be such a bore to even try to tell him no. He then ripped a vine identical to Hopper’s out of his pocket.

“Do you see this? This is the same thing as what’s coming out of that hole. This is the same thing on those doorframes. This is the same thing as the specimen you are currently holding in your hand. I grabbed this from Mike’s bed after he was gone. Thinking you’re such a great officer, you’d check the whole bed, but you didn’t. So chief, you don’t think, that the Demogorgon took him, and if its stuck in this world—,”

“Mike could still be alive,” Hopper breathed.

“EXACTLY. Now I gotta spread the word,” Lucas lifts his walkie talkie and hesitates. There was one piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit: Will had said that Mike had somehow told him he was in the upside down. So which theory was right? Well, Will had spent a week in another dimension with a monster hunting him.

So maybe, he was imagining things. I mean, life trauma happens, right? Lucas held the walkie talkie to his face. “Dustin? El? Will? Meet at Mike’s basement ASAP! Code EXTREME red! I figured out what happened to Mike. I repeat, I think I know how to find Mike!”


	6. The Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven finds a nasty surprise in the Void when she goes to look for Mike.

Steve Harrington opens the can of Coca Cola with a satisfying _ssssss_. He dipped his toes in the pool water. He felt like such a jerk. He was a jerk. He ran his hands through his soft and handsome hair.

“It’s just you and me, hair of mine. Both of us, handsome, but we feel so alone,” Steve twirled his hair around his finger. What the hell was he doing talking to his hair now? What was wrong with him? He was depressed and lonely, that’s what was goddamn wrong with him. He had Nancy, but dumping Tommy and Carol left him virtually friendless. He was king of the school, sure. But that was only helpful for sports and winning girls. He sighed deeply.

Besides, he was 100% sure that Nancy actually loved the ‘nerd-with-the-camera’ Jonathan. Which only made him feel all the more lonely and even more depressed that Nancy was still pretending to love him. He took a chug of his Cola. He had a right to talk to his hair. He keeps chugging his Cola, and doesn’t hear the bushes rustle near the woods. When he finally sets the Cola down, he screams like a girl.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHHHHHHH!” he screams. A slimy gray head poked through the trees. The Demogorgon slowly walks on all fours over to Steve’s location by the pool. Steve frantically looks around for anything he can use as a weapon, but all that is close enough is the stupid can of Coca Cola.

He splashes some of it at the monster. It surprises it, but other than that the monster continues. The monster was significantly smaller than the one Steve had seen last year. When the monster is about three feet away from Steve, it sits. Almost like a dog.

It starts to open its mouth. Steve screams again. The moment the scream leaves Steve’s mouth, the creature starts running in circles, exactly like a dog chases its tail. Now that Steve could see it more closely, it did have a tail, a small nubby one. Steve stopped screaming. The creature stopped spinning. It sits again and starts to open its mouth. Steve has no intention of being eaten.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!” he shrieks. The creature chases its butt like last time.

Steve stops.

The monster stops.

Steve screams.

The monster spins.

Steve stops.

Monster stops.

Steve screams.

Monster spins.

“Hm…” Steve thought aloud, ending his scream. The creature obviously was behaving oddly. And it was so small. Maybe…

“Are y-you going t-to eat m-me?” he asked. The Demogorgon, well more like the size of a dog, sat on its haunches again. It must’ve been a younger Demogorgon for it to be so small. He decided to call it a Demodog instead. The monster, like every other time, started to open its flower-like mouth again. This time however, the flaps were trembling. Steve didn’t take that as a good sign.

You never can know with a monster.

Steve hightailed it to the woods. He jumped over three lounge chairs like hurdles, then he ran until he was safely concealed behind a tree. He didn’t look back. Oh shit, he thought, why didn’t I just go in the house? He peeked out from behind the tree to see if the monster had followed him. He saw nothing.

Maybe it left?  
He breathed a sigh of relief, and then yelped in terror as the monster came out from behind the tree adjacent to him. It sat innocently again and started to open its mouth. Steve was still afraid.

But this time he stayed.

The Demodog slowly took its time opening it mouth until it was fully extended. Then it made a noise. Steve wasn’t sure what it was, but it was small and raspy, and weak sounding. 

A cough?

A sneeze?

Steve didn’t know.

“What’s that in your mouth?!” Steve puzzled. Then his eyes widened. His jaw utterly dropped, and he gasped.

“What the hell…”

Meanwhile at the Wheeler’s house, Lucas had just explained all that had transpired in the middle school.

“So that’s all?!” Dustin gaped.

“What do you mean ‘that’s all?’ I think we’ve got some pretty great evidence!” Lucas gestured to the two vines sitting on the floor.

“Then where is Mike? I heard him; it was really him! I swear! He told me he was in the upside down!” Will argued.

“Well, there’s only been one Demogorgon in town this week, and this one seems to be stuck in our world, so if anything took him, it has to be this! Which means he is still here! Maybe you were just…imagining things,” Lucas suggested. Will looked frustrated. After all he’d been through, his friend still thought he was at the point of imagining things. He looked at his other friends. Dustin seemed not to be listening very much. El, though? She had a different expression on her face.

“Only one way to find out,” she said. She cranked Mike’s walkie talkie to static and pulled out a blindfold.

As usual, she found herself in the void, a large empty place in which one walked on black water, to see people without being seen. She looked around. It was empty, utterly and completely empty.

“Mike!” she called.

“MIKE!” she cupped her hands around her mouth. Behind he she heard a growl. A huge shadow was standing there, hundreds of times larger than she was. It had no body. It had no shape. It was just one huge towering shadow of nothingness.

“Mike?” she asked the shadow. It couldn’t be Mike. Could it? She walked up to the thing, unafraid. It could not see her or hurt her. But somehow, it felt her. And somehow, it spoke.

 _Stay away from this boy_ , it hissed. Eleven looked at it in confusion. How did it know she was here? _Yes, I can see you ,GIRL_, the shadow spat the word girl as if it were an insult. You are looking for this boy. He is not yours. He is not mine. And you cannot see him. He is important and we cannot let him go, its voice crept into her heart, like a cold breeze on a warm night. It sent chills down her spine, and goosebumps down her legs. She backed away. It wasn’t supposed to see her! This wasn’t right! What did it mean he was important? Important for what? _This boy will be gone soon, GIRL. Gone. Go away or I’ll make you. I have good guards and you will never find him. You will never get him back. And by the time you get here, he will be long gone_ , the shadow loomed even more intimidatingly over her, its word whispering poisonous tendrils of doubt into her hopeful heart. It had said gone. Gone? As in…would they kill Mike?! They couldn’t! and guards? Who were these creatures? What did they want with Mike? It scared her that this shadow creature was so confident. It was sure its plan would work. No doubts.

“Dead?” she asked the shadow, her voice trembling. She carefully focused her powers on the walkie talkie she was holding. The monster would relay this piece of information to her friends.

 _No. Not dead. He will be dead to you. But to u s…_it paused.

“B-but to you?” Eleven repeated.

But to us, his life will be just beginning, it finished, its voice radiating power and triumph and absolute confidence.

“NO!” El screamed at the monster. “Stop! STOP STOPSTOP! I won’t let you hurt Mike!”

I’m not the one who will be hurting Mike. I’m only guarding him. But please, see what happens to those who try and stop me, it taunted. El charged it and stopped just in front of the monster. It wouldn’t do anything. They couldn’t touch each other here. Or…could they? El reached out into the shadow’s murkiness.

She screamed. It didn’t feel like pain. It felt far worse than pain. It felt like every good thing ever was gone forever. It felt like every last ray of sunlight was lost to shadow. It felt like every joyful laugh from anyone she’d ever loved mouth’s had turned to sobs. It felt like she would never, could never, smile again. Like slaps in the face, different emotions overcame her like cold buckets of water being splashed in your face. First misery. Then hopelessness. Then despair. The shadow cackled and she pulled her hand out of it, tears streaming down her face.

 _Stop looking for your friend_ , the shadow warned, _do you wanna see what will happen when you come for him? Do you?_ It sounded delighted.

“N-no,” El said in a small, weak voice. A tendril of smokiness reached towards her.

 _Watch…this is no mere vision. It could be the future. Did I mention that I can see the possible futures?_ Eleven’s face went from scared to mortally terrified.

“N-no-o! D-don’t sh-show me-e!” El stuttered. The shadow only laughed. It stabbed the tendril into her face.

_ There was a forest. A clearing bordered by a ring of trees  was illuminated with a soft green light that she recognized as the upside down. Chunks and flakes of unknown material floated through the air, and the whole scene was covered in nasty, slimy vines identical others and Lucas’s except bigger. But what really caught her attention was the boy who was leaning against a tree. He was sitting, looking awful and weak. It was Mike. But behind each tree, outside of the clearing, was a Demogorgon. They were all huge, about twice the size of the one from last year. But the one behind the tree across from Mike was huge. It was taller than the tree and easily could’ve guarded the whole ring of trees alone. It was a Demogorgon, but huge. It had six legs and they menacingly loomed over the ring like a giant spider. Its head was the shape of a candle’s flame, and the bottom pointed directly down, which was where the familiar creases of the flower-like mouth were. She couldn’t quite see the feet, but they had to have he each as big as Mike’s whole house. Bigger even? There was a chance. The whole ring of trees was so heavily guarded, she finally realized how slim the chances of ever rescuing Mike were. Suddenly, a huge explosion sounded about a mile away from the ring of trees. All the monsters looked in that direction, including the huge one.  And for the split second they looked away, a group of five people rushed through the clearing. Eleven looked battered and bloody, covered in dirt and grime, no  dpubt from the vines, but she used her powers to lift Mike and pull him out of the clearing quickly. She noticed her future self’s nose was stained red all underneath. It had undoubtably been bleeding several times before, and a huge gush of blood was running down it now. The large Demogorgon snapped its head back down to the clearing. It saw El lifting Mike, and with one stomp it smashed her under its foot. ‘I told you this would happen’ it spoke to its foot, ‘but you don’t listen, do you?’ And her friends, frozen in fear, got smashed as well. Dustin tried to run, but it took one roar from the huge monster’s mouth, and a Demogorgon from the trees, about three times the size of Dustin, leapt onto him and proceeded to ripping into him. Eleven looked away. The monster’s head turned to Mike. ‘How did they find you?’ it snapped at him. Mike looked down. His eyes were covered with tears and his face was red. He couldn’t  seem to tear his eyes away from El’s…she didn’t even want to look at it. “You told them, didn’t you? You are useless for this, if you will turn spy. Now, your death won’t be as quick as your friend’s here,’ it growled at the other guard  Demogorgons . Slowly, they started to tear into him, pulling and tearing until the ground was covered in blood.  _

“LET ME OUT!” _El screamed_ , “LET ME OUT!” _She tr ied to look away, but her head was held in place and her eyelids forced open by some unknown force. So, she was forced to watch as they ripped off his skin, munched on his organs_ _that were ripped out._ “NO! NO! NO!” _she screamed._ “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” _she put as much bloodiness and power and grief into her scream as possible. Tears rolled down her face until she could barely breathe. They snapped Mike’s bones and slurped his blood and sto_ _m_ _ped in his broken bloody mess of a heap which made unbearable squelching sounds. His eyeballs were sucked into their mouths and…she finally found the strength to resist the force and closed her eyes. She utterly collapsed to the ground and sobbed, her lungs no longer working._ The world faded away around her until she was back in the darkness of the Void, her tears only adding to the liquid surrounding her. Her tears must’ve amounted to rivers, and her eyes burned. Her face was hot, and she struggled to breathe between sobs.

You’ve been warned, came the wicked voice of the shadow, the same voice as the huge Demogorgon. They were the same. She took her hands off the walkie talkie and ripped the blindfold off her face. It was drenched with tears and so was her whole shirt front, and the floor. She continued to cry and cry, Mike’s bloody death replaying in her head over and over and over until she felt like she was going mad. She didn’t even hear anything her friends were saying to her, or if they were saying anything at all. She was screaming too loudly, crying too hard.

“ELEVEN!” Will screamed at her, and his hands found her shoulders, which he gripped so tightly his knuckles turned white. She shook her, even though was already rocking with sobs. She stopped crying at looked at him, sucking in air rapidly.

“Hey, hey, its okay,” he said gently and led her to her blanket fort where she sat down. They all gathered around. They wait about five minutes for her to calm down enough to form sentences.

“Now, what happened?”

She told them every little detail, down to the part about the deaths, in which she made as vague as possible.

“But the one thing I don’t understand, if Mike is alive, why didn’t I see him when I searched? Why did I see the shadow instead?” El wondered.

“I’m not sure El. But we do know one thing for sure: Mike is in the upside down. I think maybe you couldn’t see him because we didn’t make a sensory deprivation tank, and you need one of those to see into the upside down,” Will turned to Lucas, “if Mike was in our world, she would have found him. This shadow…maybe it is so powerful that it can access the Void too. So maybe it sensed her trying to find Mike and then reacted…accordingly. If it can see futures, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had other powers too,” Will finished.

“So,” Dustin made his hypothesis face, “maybe the Demogorgon took him to the upside down…”

“Then something happened to it when it got back,” Lucas finished the sentence. Dustin and Lucas look at each other.

Will is aware that they have continued talking, but after that point he stopped paying attention. He was more focused on the girl inside the tent. And the odd emotion that was slowly seizing his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last five chapters were prewritten which is why they were all posted on the same day. This is the last prewritten one, so the time between posting chapters with be more lengthy. I would guess you’ll find chapter 7 on here in a few days. 
> 
> Also I’d love to take a moment to say this whole story is dedicated to my amazing friend Solada, who shines like the sun she is named for. I love you Sol thank you for everything and for being an awesome friend! :) :) :)
> 
> This is my first fan fiction I’ve ever written so please give me your feedback, and don’t be soft, I know I have room to improve and I would love more than nothing anything to hear your questions, concerns, and corrections! Love to hear all the feedback!


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